ED Legal Letter – July 1, 2013

July 1, 2013

• The Federal Government Blocks South Carolina Hospitals from Posting ‘Pain Management Signs’ in their Emergency Departments

  All across the country, states, hospital associations, communities, and emergency departments (EDs) are attempting to deal with the growing incidence of prescription pain medication abuse, overdoses, and deaths.1 Opioid pain medications now kill more Americans than cocaine and heroin combined, and over the past five years, there have been more drug-induced deaths than motor vehicle accident deaths.2

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• Nine Percent to 30% of Strokes Misdiagnosed in ED

  Diagnostic errors are the most common, most costly, and most deadly medical errors, according to a recent analysis of 25 years of malpractice payouts from the National Practitioner Data Bank.1

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• Restraining Violent Patient? Consider Malpractice Risks

  Too often, ED staff dont report violence due to onerous reporting processes, according to Terry Kowalenko, MD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. Research suggests that violent incidents occurring in EDs are far more frequent than statistics reveal.1-3

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• Is EP Legally Required to Obtain Patient’s Consent?

  Consent to an intervention or treatment is generally implied when a patient comes to the ED, but there are some exceptions to this, according to Andrew H. Koslow, MD, JD, an assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA, and an emergency physician (EP) at Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, MA.

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